Disparity By Design

The lyrics are wrong, this is from the book:

All the way at the bottom Of these barrels we cried out So ashamed of our tears that We blame only ourselves And that's when they win They keep us convinced To lift up our chins These playing fields are level We all have a chance With that they dismiss The fast lanes they rode In which access depends On who you know Or where you came from Whose daughter are you? Whose fortunate son? We're told to stick out our thumbs They feast from the linens While we settle for crumbs

Is this an over-reaching arm? Or is this compassion? Is this a handout undeserved? Or a just reparation?

All the way from the towers High above the glass ceilinged tombs Tell themselves that they've earned this By working hard and playing by the rules But this is only part true A dangerous trick played on me and you And so, like a practical joke We pulled on these bootstraps So hard that they broke

Is this an over-reaching arm? Or is this compassion? Is this a handout undeserved? Or a just reparation? Like a single domino That falls like the rest stay vertical We're fed these empty fairy tales Will you believe them?

If there's a God you better pray That this sleeping giant never wakes

If we just took a step back A bigger picture we might see Perhaps the man in the gutter Is not so different from you

Come in out of the cold Forget all that you know Because there's always been room By the fire for you Come in out of the cold

Will you believe them? Is this an over-reaching arm? Or is this compassion? Is this a handout undeserved? Or a just reparation?

Like a single domino That falls like the rest stay vertical We're fed these empty fairy tales And I'm through believing

They're basically saying that our current capitalist system is designed to favor those already in power. They (the higher ups in power) say that all people have a fair chance to get to where they are, but that is false because they were born privileged.

By accepting that we have a fair chance to succeed (when we don't), we are accepting their lies (Pulling yourself up by your bootstraps is impossible to do, but we do it anyways to try and get wealthy, hence the practical joke). Also, they are saying a redistribution of wealth is just and morally right because these people who are poor and "unsuccessful" never had a fair chance in the first place.

Freakin awesome song, It's about how we are always told "you can be anything you wan't when you grow up" when in reality that is not entirely true. Half of it is just luck, just who you know or where you came from whose daughter are you? whose fortunate son?

if we just take a step back a bigger picture we might view perhaps the man in the gutter is not so different from you

Is another great part, just because somebody doesn't have good clothes and is in the street doesn't mean they really are any different than you.

it is about capitalist propaganda telling everybody they are born equal when in actual fact the system has been set up to slow or stop the rise of just anybody to a position of power, theirfore polarising power and stopping the distribution of wealth. like the trickle down economy business. it's rubbish guised as a good option

"Disparity By Design" is about elitism and how people tell their kids that "they can be anything they want to be", but this is not actually be true. The system is rigged so that those who are rich will stay rich, and their children will have the free ride through life because their parents were doctors or lawyers or CEOs. So the system is designed to cause disparity to all the people who actually work hard and believe that they can go as high as their abilities will take them.

It's about how the social class structure is extremely rigid in America and how the richest people resist the upward movement of people from the middle class. How far a kid might go in life depends on whether their parents went to Ivy League Schools or are some wealthy investor. When a person from the middle class fails to make it "big time" a rich snob can just say "Oh, well you didn't work as hard as I did." When in reality it is the system that is designed to screw over the middle class people.

And in the end the narrator says,

"Like a single domino That falls like the rest stay vertical We're fed these empty fairy tales And I'm through believing"

Meaning that he's not going to keep on believing the lies the people at the top are saying when they speak the words, "Work hard and one day you can be like me." because he knows it's just not true.

I don't think it's necessarily against capitalism, just against the social elites who have designed the system so that it is not the best person who gets to the top. They hold others down in order to keep themselves where they are in life.

Middle Class FTW!

Fuck the elite is what this song is about.

The chorus of any song will tell you what a song is about. Everything else is a supporting statement. With that thought, I believe this song is about social programs. This song is entirely political.

Aside from the chorus, here are other social program references:

If we just took a step back A bigger picture we might see Perhaps the man in the gutter Is not so different from you

Come in out of the cold Forget all that you know Because there's always been room By the fire for you Come in out of the cold

Next, we have this:

All the way from the towers High above the glass ceilinged tombs Tell themselves that they've earned this By working hard and playing by the rules But this is only part true A dangerous trick played on me and you And so, like a practical joke We pulled on these bootstraps So hard that they broke

Will you believe them? Is this an over-reaching arm? Or is this compassion? Is this a handout undeserved? Or a just reparation?

They're talking about how Republican politicians like to talk about how we're all the same- hard working Americans (they include themselves in this) - and how we don't want those tax hikes (that are meant to support social programs) b/c they worked hard for their money. Why should anyone else get what they "worked hard for?" Meanwhile, they leave out the fact that under the proposed tax hikes, only the upper tier see the biggest tax increase(themselves); while the people who could actually benefit from these social programs are duped into believing the Republican lies and vote against something that could actually help them. The wealthy don't have to pay their fair share, and so, the wealthy stay wealthy, and the poor stay poor. THIS is how the little guy is kept down. That's what this song is about.

I think it would be entirely hypocritical for the band to say that you have to be wealthy to make wealth. Were they wealthy before they became big? How much money have they made? Do you see where I'm going? I think Rise Against is much deeper than that. You need to understand WHY, instead of making blanket statements. This song is very nicely done & delivers are powerful message.

Also, I don't think he's talking about himself when he says he's through believing. Maybe going into character of someone who woke up from the lies. Great closing line for a character in the music video.

the begining part of this song songs so similar to "meeting of the minds" by Bad Religion i think thats cool since they are touring together

I think it's "come in out of the cold"

"Away from the towers High above the ceiling tombs Tell themselves That they've earned this Like working hard Or playing by the rules But this is only part true A dangerous trick Played on me and you And so like a practical joke We put on these bootstraps So high that they broke"

When I hear the references to towers and warfare I have an image of the war on terror after 9/11. It sounds like RS is hinting that the war, after dragged out for so long, has exhausted the nation's resources and the soldiers so much that their bootstraps are breaking. Now I'm not gonna spout any conspiracy BS, but the war should've ended already, yet it's as if the soldiers have fallen for a practical joke.

these lyrics are terribly off. I sent in a correction that is accurate and hopefully it will be up soon